Deliciously Ella

In just a few years, Ella Mills – aka Deliciously Ella – has taken the world by storm, breaking book records, inspiring millions to eat well, launching her own deli and running a hugely successful blog… We get her golden top tips for bloggers and social media lovers, plus advice for looking after yourself in business.

In a short space of time, you’ve managed to turn your health/wellness blog into a flourishing business loved by millions across the globe. What would be your top three tips for aspiring bloggers looking for success?

I’d say the most important tip would be to stay authentic. You have to write about something that you truly love and are very passionate about. It doesn’t matter what that subject is or how mainstream it is, all that matters is that it’s important to you. The second thing is to be consistent with your content, as well as when you’re posting. Make sure you post at the same time every week and do the same number of posts every week; that way your readers know what to expect and when they should come back for new content. Lastly, finding your own unique voice is so important and really helped me in my blogging journey. There are millions of blogs and bloggers out there, so it’s very easy to get lost amongst everyone else. One of the best ways to stop that from happening is to write in a way that is truly you; don’t try to emulate someone else that you like as it won’t be consistent and I think readers can see through it.

I’d say the most important tip would be to stay authentic. You have to write about something that you truly love and are very passionate about. It doesn’t matter what that subject is or how mainstream it is, all that matters is that it’s important to you.

Your journey has been very much self-taught. What challenges have you had to overcome, and what key lessons have you learnt along the way?

Managing my illness is still a big part of my journey. Everyday is still focussed on controlling my symptoms and making sure I do everything I can to feel my best. Sometimes when work gets too hectic and I don’t have as much time to really focus on myself, I can feel my symptoms creep up again, so for the next few days I would have to take extra care of myself and be slightly more restricting with my plans and diet to help keep my symptoms under control. It’s an ongoing challenge for me but it’s incredible to see how far I’ve come from when I was first diagnosed. If I’m ever feeling low, focussing on this really helps to boost my mood and mindset.

Image credit: Sophia Spring

While you’ve had a great deal of positive feedback on social media, there have also been negative comments and reactions that you’ve had to deal with. How have you dealt with this, and what advice would you give to other bloggers/businesses that are managing social media accounts?

It’s challenging sometimes to come up against very personal negative comments from strangers on aspects of your life but I always try to focus on the positives and try to remember that if I am being myself and a nice person and am doing my best, that’s what really matters. It can be easy to get into a habit of always focussing on the negative but it’s so important to pick out the positives too and to remember that for every negative comment, there are always tons more inspiring and positive comments that are so important to focus on.

My best advice to other bloggers – or anyone on social media – is to be yourself, engage with everyone, be consistent, focus on the positives, don’t get put down by negative comments from strangers who don’t even know you, and never give up!

My best advice is to be yourself, engage with everyone, be consistent, focus on the positives, don’t get put down by negative comments from strangers who don’t even know you, and never give up!

You’ve launched The Mae Deli with your husband, Matthew Mills, and it has been incredibly popular with queues pouring out the door. In what ways has it changed your business having a physical location, and how do you see this developing?

It’s been such an amazing experience opening The Mae Deli; such hard work but so much fun. It’s a real transition and change from blogging, so it’s been a massive learning curve and a lot of learning as you go, but I’ve loved that. I wanted to bring the food to life and share it with everyone, without you having to go and cook it yourself! We would love to expand and make delicious and healthy food accessible to as many people as possible!

Image credit: Sophia Spring

You are very much at the heart and focus of your company. This no doubt brings with it a lot of pressure to always be on top form. How do you cope with this – especially if you’re feeling tired or under the weather, or when you’re feeling too busy to know how to manage everything? Any golden advice for other entrepreneurs?

It can definitely be hard trying to stay sparkly all the time. Sometimes when you’ve had a really long day with lots of meetings and tons of emails, being positive doesn’t always come so naturally. I’m really trying to work on my work-life balance and make sure I take care of myself, giving myself enough rest time instead of over-working and eventually burning out. This means that sometimes I will have to say no to some commitments and cut certain events out of my diary to make sure that I focus my time on the really important things.

Thinking positively, accepting where I am, breathing and just trying to make the best of whatever I’m doing makes all the difference.

I also find that adopting a positive attitude in really stressful situations can completely transform your situation. Thinking positively, accepting where I am, breathing and just trying to make the best of whatever I’m doing makes all the difference.